news at 5:00. >> we'll see you right back here at 6:00. tonight, as the coronavirus death toll climbs, promising news inside america's epicenter. new york's governor suggesting the state is flattening the curve, but warning the crisis is still far from over. the state reporting 758 deaths in the last 24 hours. plus, when will the country reopen? tonight, dr. anthony fauci's potential timeline, calling it a, quote, rolling re-entry. and with americans across the country finding new ways to celebrate easter, churches in several states defying rules, inviting crowds to attend services. tracking new hot zones. several states predicting they are just days away from their peak. cases in massachusetts soaring, almost 20% in 48 hours. a nurse dying of the virus after speaking out about conditions inside of a nursing home. missed signals? the scathing report criticizing

the trump administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic. president trump repeatedly claiming no one saw it coming. top advisers and health officials reportedly trying to warn him six weeks before he took serious action. also breaking tonight, the major tornado damage reported in the south. up to 300 homes hit. tornado threats in several states with millions already under stay at home orders. severe storms from texas to the east coast. overseas and life after quarantine in wuhan, china. an american family emerging after two and a half months in lockdown, leaving their home together for the first time. the major fear in the city at thsse hope. pope francis in a near empty st. peter's basilica, warning the coronavirus is testing our whole human family. ♪ amazing grace >> and the heavenly voice

singing "amazing grace." the concert streamed around the world. and good evening. thanks for joining us on this easter sunday. i'm tom llamas. we'll have more on that breaking news, those tornadoes touching down, hundreds of homes damaged. but we begin tonight with the battle against the coronavirus in the u.s., and signs of hope amid some staggering and heartbreaking numbers. the u.s. with more than 550,000 cases. more than 21,000 deaths. new york state reporting 758 deaths in just 24 hours. the number of icu patients and patients on ventilators increasing, but the number of hospitalizations is dropping. governor andrew cuomo revealing the curve is flattening, and today, he returned dozens of ventilators to a nursing home loaning them to the state. new jersey with more than 2,300 deaths including police officers on the front lines in bedbedbed

bedminister and patterson. and police tracking license plates of parishioners attending easter service in hillview, kentucky. the governor warning them they'll have to quarantine for two weeks. abc's trevor ault leads us off tonight. >> reporter: tonight, signs the spread of covid-19 may be leveling off here in new york. but the virus still taking an incredible human toll. >> that's the so-called flattening of the curve. the apex isn't just an apex, it's a plateau. it has been flattening, but flattening at a terribly high level. >> reporter: more than 1,500 new yorkers dying from the virus this weekend alone. brooklyn funeral director doris amen says the body count is devastating. >> we are upside down. we have never seen anything like this. we are deluged and we're turning away families, which i am very disheartened to do. >> reporter: while the death rate remains high, the number of new hospitalizations here is trending down. tonight, an update from an emergency physician on the front lines at mt. sinai queens.

>> although we're plateauing, the numbers themselves are still shockingly high. the hospital is constantly at capacity. >> reporter: leaders are weighing when life may begin returning to normal. dr. anthony fauci suggesting a rolling re-entry may begin next month. >> it is not going to be a light switch that we say, okay, it is now june, july, or whatever, click, the light switch goes back on. >> reporter: though plans for new york city schools and their 1.1 million students still remain in limbo. mayor bill de blasio said saturday schools will stay closed for the academic year. but governor andrew cuomo still saying nothing has been decided. >> schools, businesses, work force, transportation, it all has to be coordinated. we're not going to open any school until it is safe from a public health point of view. >> reporter: and public health concerns forcing millions of americans to stream easter sunday services instead of going to church. the church of the blessed sacrament in manhattan's upper

west side would typically have 3,000 people here for easter services. today, the door is open and the organ is playing, but there are less than ten people inside. >> it's just inconceivable that you can't go to church. that you can't have mass. so, it's -- it's a challenging time. >> reporter: but some pastors preaching in person, regardless of restrictions. >> welcome to church this morning on easter sunday. >> reporter: calvary baptist church in kansas holding a service despite the state supreme court upholding the governor's order limiting religious gatherings to ten people. police say it appears there were few in attendance. no citations were issued. in hillview, kentucky, police placing flyers on cars outside maryville baptist church. across the state, officers taking down license plates of anyone attending a mass gathering. the governor saying health officials will order those people to self-quarantine for two weeks. >> if you're going to expose yourself to this virus and you make that decision to do it,

it's not fair to everybody else out there that you might spread it to. >> reporter: and in mississippi, a jackson city councilman handing out masks to people headed into worship. >> amen! >> amen! >> reporter: this pastor saying his church can still gather with caution. >> i am going to say to the congregation, let's be as safe as possible, let's not do anything foolish. >> and trevor ault joins us now from outside st. patrick's cathedral and manhattan. and trevor, as several states issued orders to try to stop large group gatherings for easter sunday, tonight, the department of justice saying it may take action? >> reporter: that's right, tom. several lawsuits have been filed by churches who claim these gathering bans aren't being enforced equally and are singling out church services. one mississippi church said that police threatened to fine them for operating drive-through service when liquor stores were still operating drive-throughs.

a department of justice official says they're looking at several of these cases and a spokesperson for the attorney general says expect action this week. tom? >> trevor ault from midtown manhattan for us. trevor, thank you. as new york talks about flattening the curve, new hot zones are being tracked across the country. several states, including massachusetts and pennsylvania, now bracing for their peaks, which could be days or weeks away. here's abc's chief national correspondent matt gutman. >> reporter: tonight, the virus on the attack. several states predicting they are just days away from their peak. in massachusetts, the number of confirmed cases soaring by 21% in just 48 hours. 59-year-old nurse maria krier quit her job at this life care center in massachusetts earlier this month, saying management had no experience with the infectious disease, telling our affiliate wcvb in boston -- >> there's no initiative to protect the workers and the patients. >> reporter: and on friday, krier died after contracting covid-19. and now more than 70 staff and residents have been infected.

ten residents have died. the center now asking all staff to be tested, saying in a statement, "we are deeply saddened by the passing of one our associates." adding, "our nurses and front line workers are the heroes in the fight against this unprecedented outbreak." in pennsylvania, the governor predicting a surge this week after more than 2,800 new cases were reported this weekend. >> if we begin to slip in our efforts to distance ourselves socially, we could very easily see explosive growth rates. >> reporter: and texas showing a huge surge, though it's only tested about 1 in every 240 people. in california, multiple studies testing for antibodies, those proteins in the blood that show a body has been exposed to the virus. but the fda is concerned about accuracy and reliability of some tests. at this southern california fire station, one of the state's first rounds of antibody testing. 50 front line workers getting tested, but there is still much unknown about the tests and the

results. if the antibodies disappear after a certain period of time, we believe, that means, theoretically, you lose that immunity. >> you could be susceptible to a second infection. >> reporter: and tom, since testing for the virus has been so scattershot nationwide, a new nih study is going to look for the antibodies and it could tell us how many people in the country have been infected, how many of them went undetected, how fast this is spreading and how deadly it might really be. tom? >> that testing so important. all right, matt gutman for us. next tonight, the blistering report accusing the white house of missing crucial signals, as the coronavirus outbreak was spreading across the u.s. here's abc's rachel scott from washington. >> reporter: tonight, the white house's leading infectious disease expert admits government inaction cost american lives. >> obviously, you could logically say that if you had a process that was ongoing and you started mitigation earlier, you could have saved lives. obviously, no one is going to deny that.

but what goes into those kinds of decisions is complicated. >> reporter: "the new york times" reports in a february 21st coronavirus task force meeting attended by fauci and hhs secretary alex azar, it was decided they "would soon need to move toward aggressive social distancing." at this point, china had at least 75,000 cases and northern italy was closing public spaces. but the president did not announce those measures for more than three weeks. during that time, the number of known u.s. coronavirus cases surging from 15 to over 4,000. sources tell abc news, as far back as late november, u.s. intelligence officials warned of a crisis. over the next month, briefings included the national security council at the white house. by early january, the contagion sweeping through china was in the president's security brief. the president saying he learned of the magnitude right before his decision on january 31st to limit travel with china. when did you first learn about the intelligence, and could you

have acted on it then? >> well, i learned when i started -- when i learned about the gravity of it, was some time just prior to closing the country to china. >> reporter: the administration is pushing back against reports of missing early warning signs. the white house has responded to that "new york times" report, telling us the president took bold action to protect americans. tom? >> all right, rachel, thank you. now to breaking developments. tornadoes striking the south tonight, as millions are already sheltering at home. let's get right to victor oquendo in jackson, mississippi. >> reporter: tonight, sirens blaring across the south. an easter sunday severe weather outbreak under way. in monroe, louisiana, a tornado emergency. this neighborhood hit hard. terrified families surveying the damage. >> look, man. >> reporter: monroe's mayor saying between 200 to 300 homes were damaged. the regional airport taking a direct hit. planes tossed like toys. the national weather service and meteorologists across the region warning families to take cover

and have a plan. >> find a small windowless room, wrap up in blankets and pillows, put on a helmet to protect yourself from debris and stay in that tornado safe place until we can give you the all clear. >> reporter: thousands losing power. could this come at a worse possible time? >> i can't think of a worse possible time. >> reporter: here in mississippi, the coronavirus pandemic forcing families to take extra precautions when seeking shelter. >> we're asking people to wear a mask into those shelters, if you don't have a mask, anything, you can wear a handkerchief, a bandanna. >> reporter: north of here, inmates helping distribute sandbags amid flash flooding. overnight, dozens of severe weather reports, including baseball-sized hail. there is still a line of storms headed across the south, with the potential for even more tornadoes in the overnight hours. now, with so many people already indoors following those coronavirus guidelines, wacials have tornado alerts ready to go on your phone, because you might not hear those sirens blaring outside. tom? >> victor oquendo in the path of the storm tonight. victor, you and your team stay safe.

let's get right to abc senior meteorologist rob marciano, tracking those storms. rob? >> reporter: hey, tom. this tornado outbreak just ongoing now. let's get right to it. we have several watches that are posted, including a pds watch. outlined in red. that is very dangerous. we've already had not one, not two, but three damaging large tornadoes on the ground in louisiana, mississippi. those will progress to the east. flooding rains to the north. snow on the back side of this. and a tornado threat tomorrow morning from north florida all the way up through the mid-atlantic. and then strong winds wrapping around that cyclone for the northeast, from detroit to boston. winds 60 to 70 miles an hour. those temporary tented cities in new york will be a dangerous spot tomorrow. tom? >> all right, rob, thank you for that. overseas now, british prime minister boris johnson out of the hospital and recovering from the coronavirus. johnson thanking health care workers for saving his life, saying it, quote, could have gone either way. he spent three nights in intensive care. new tonight, an american family emerging from their home for the first time in 76 days. the reason? they live in wuhan. so, what's life like after quarantine? here's abc's bob woodruff.

>> reporter: tonight, this is wuhan, the chinese city where the global pandemic began. now, it's reopened, with a little bit of celebration. oweeinameranaxeirt, his fe li dan and his 6-month-old daughter, rachel, who are quarantined in their neighborhood. >> i felt like i can't even leave if i wanted to. >> reporter: we were there just when fears of the virus' spread were growing. this is the international section of the wuhan airport and there's basically almost no one here. it's empty. days later, the airport shut down and wuhan became a ghost town. >> so, as you can see, we're outside. i think it's been, like, two months of wuhan being locked down. te me thanwo months, max's entire family went outside together for the first time. residents can now walk this once empty city. even max going to the store. do you feel safe there? >> yeah, definitely feel safe

here, because, i mean, they've taken such, like, stringent precautions. >> reporter: very stringent. residents scan codes on their phones. officials use technology to track people's movements and check body temperatures. police even wear helmets they claim can detect heat in a crowd. how long do you think this kind of lifestyle you've got there in wuhan will continue? >> that's the big question. that's the one that, you know, li dan and i talk about and we wonder about. because at this point, we really are just looking forward to the day when we can kind of go back to our normal lives. >> reporter: now, china is certainly not out of lockdown, tom. some areas have detected some more confirmed cases. officials claim that these are with people who came from outside the country. now that travel is banned. they are just wary of a resurgence, a second wave of covid-19. tom? >> like so many places around the world. all right, bob, thank you for that new reporting. and around the world tonight, millions of people finding ways to celebrate easter.

tonight, on the holiest day of the year for christians around the world, these solemn images from the vatican. pope francis addressing a nearly empty st. peter's basilica. calling on the faithful to spread a new type of contagion. one he calls a contagion of hope. around the world, cathedrals usually filled to the brim on easter, deserted. in spain, bolivia, australia, striking images of empty pews. instead, parishioners watching livestreams from the safety of their homes. and across italy, a country devastated by the coronavirus, signs that contagion of hope is spreading. priests taking to the rooftops, parishioners listening from a safe distance on their balconies. ♪ amazing grace >> reporter: and opera singer andrea bocelli holding a concert he called "music for hope" from

an empty duomo in milan. the performance going viral. his voice filling the void across images of empty cityscapes. the goal, he said, to hug this wounded earth's pulsing heart. ♪ but now i see >> the messages of hope tonight. and there is much more ahead on "world news tonight." your coronavirus questions. could parts of the country start reopening next month? dr. jen ashton standing by. or could it play out differently? i wanted to help protect myself. my doctor recommended eliquis. eliquis is proven to treat and help prevent another dvt or pe blood clot. almost 98% of patients on eliquis didn't experience another. and eliquis has significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. eliquis is fda-approved and has both. don't stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to.

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back now with more new developments on the coronavirus pandemic. our chief medical editor dr. jen ashton joins us now. and jen, we heard dr. anthony fauci talk about a possible rolling re-entry when it comes to reopening the country, and there's a reason why health professionals are advocating for this procedure. >> reporter: well, what this might look like, tom, is gradually reopening the country based either on location or by activity, little by little. this, of course, is predicated on widespread availability of testing and quarantine in a strategic manner with contact tracing. that all depends on how accessible the test is and how accurate the test results are. >> dr. jen ashton for us tonight. jen, thank you. when we come back, the historic oil deal that could move the markets tomorrow. stay with us.

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finally tonight, america strong. here's abc's gio benitez. >> reporter: joanne ritchie has been making auto parts at ford for 30 years, but now, a new call to arms. she's helping ford make desperately needed masks for health care workers. >> we were laid off and they asked me if i would be interested and i'm like, why wouldn't i want to do this? >> reporter: giving back is in her dna. in world war ii, her grandmother made aircraft parts at hudson motors, and today, this is joanne's daughter, andrea. a nurse now on the front lines. for you, what she's doing is literally a lifeline.

>> sometimes you've got to go and beg this person and that person to get the right mask that fits your face. >> reporter: she knows that you're out there, really risking your health to do this work. >> my biggest concern for my parents is that, if i was to get it, that i would not be here. >> reporter: a daughter's bravery is a mother's pride. i imagine you're very proud of your daughter. >> very much. very much so. >> reporter: i see you're getting emotional there, why? >> well, you know, she's putting herself out there like so many other people and she has a little bit of my grandmother in her. she's bound, she's determined. nothing's going to stop her. >> reporter: three ritchie women, generations apart, are america strong. gio benitez, abc news, new york. >> our thanks to the ritchie family for their service. and our thanks to you for watching. i'm tom llamas in new york. please stay safe. good night.

tonight on abc7 news at 6:00, the bay area celebrates easter with social distancing. see how people manage to observe the holiday. stimulus payments are coming, and some people may already have them. the update from the irs. and when did the coronavirus actually arrive in the bay area? a new report suggests it may have been here a lot longer than you may think. abc7 news at 6:00 starts right now. >> now your health, your safety, this is abc7 news. ♪ >> well, easter goes on in the bay area, but with a much different tone this year as the coronavirus pandemic forces many churches to conduct virtual celebrations. good evening and thank you so much for joining us.

i'm dion lim. >> i'm eric thomas. there are more than 550,000 confirmed cases in the united states. that's three times as many as the next highest country, spain. >> more than 21,000 deaths have been reported in the u.s., which is also the highest of any country. new york city alone is nearing 7,000. italy has the second most deaths from the virus. california is reporting just over 22,000 confirmed cases, which is the sixth most in the u.s., just behind massachusetts and pennsylvania. more than 600 people have died in the state from the virus. the greater bay area now has more than 5,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus. the count right now stands at 5,3079. 140 people have died. santa clara county still has the most cases with more than 1600. >> north of the bay area lake and mendocino counties report having four confirmed cases